The cluster for future ETOS has successfully passed the critical review by the BMFTR, the expert jury, and expert reviewers: the progress made over the last three years and the research results to date have been convincing. This means that the electrification of technical organic syntheses (ETOS) remains an important topic for the future.
The Clusters4Future Initiative, funded by the BMFTR, aims to create unique innovation ecosystems. It brings together the expertise of many academic and industrial players in a regional network in order to fully exploit and further increase the region's innovation potential in a specific subject area.
Under the leadership of Prof. Siegfried Waldvogel (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Mülheim) and co-leadership of Prof. Ulrike Krewer (Karlsruhe institute of technology), ETOS brings together the relevant expertise of partners along the German Rhine axis – from Freiburg to the Ruhr region – in the field of electro-organic synthesis of chemicals. Over the past three years, ETOS has succeeded in attracting 32 stakeholders from research and industry to participate in joint research projects. In addition to €15 million in project funding from the first funding period, ETOS contributed significantly to raising over €220 million for accompanying research. In the first phase, eight patent applications, two products/services, over 21 publications, and numerous new methods in electrosynthesis have been developed to date.
The BMFTR has now given the green light for this success story to continue. The second funding period will begin on April 1st, 2026, and will receive an additional €12.1 million in support over three years. Additional funds will be contributed by industry partners, among others, bringing the total project volume to more than €18 million.
On Thursday, February 5, 2026, this milestone was celebrated at the MPI CEC with State Secretary Matthias Hauer, who presented the official renewal certificate. Together with our directors Siegfried R. Waldvogel and Walter Leitner, the entire team would like to thank all partners and employees for their visionary work.
Special thanks also go to Member of the German Bundestag Astrid Timmermann-Fechter, Dr. Dieter Labruier, and Christopher Wolf from Projektträger Jülich, who were also present at the certificate presentation.